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Lynn Cain begins his second year as East L.A. College's football coach with expectations of a more competitive team.










Improved athleticism could lead to big leap for ELAC


By RON GUILD, Sports Editor

Story Published: Aug 26, 2009 at 1:02 PM PDT



Lynn Cain’s first year in charge of the East L.A. College football program could be chalked up as a learning experience.

To say the least, there were some tough lessons learned during a 1-9 campaign in which the Huskies were torched for 65 points (by Cerritos) in the first game, 75 (by Glendale) in another and were outscored 485-193 over the 10 games.

“There were three areas we needed to address and that was we had to improve our speed, strength and knowledge of the game,” Cain said.

By all accounts, the product of Roosevelt High School, East L.A. College, USC and the NFL has done just that. It all starts with an upgrade in talent.

Cain and the coaching staff hit the ground running when it came to recruiting and the incoming class promises to raise the level of play for the Huskies, who have struggled for much of the decade (the program is 10-60 since 2002).

“Last year I was hired in January and it took until spring to get a staff together,” he said. “So we were behind in the recruiting area.”

He admits recruiting is a bit different than at the four-year college level where the process ends once a letter of intent is signed in February.

“At the JC level, it’s constant,” he said. “You’re recruiting right up to camp because other coaches are recruiting the same kids. Our coaches understand that.

“I liken JC recruiting to the NFL. In the NFL, you used to keep your core group of players around for years, but now with free agency, you keep them for two or three years. We’re kind of in the same situation.”

While Cain has a lot of new faces to integrate into the program, he does have some old ones to build around.

In quarterback Pedro Velasquez, he has a returning starter who passed for 1,468 yards as a freshman. Those were pretty decent numbers considering he came out of El Monte High School as a veer quarterback.

“We expect him to be a lot better this year,” Cain said. “We’re very excited about him.”

Although last year’s standout Antoine Smithson has moved on to the University of Utah, the receiving corps appears to be in good hands with the likes of returnees David Carter and Jorge Valdovinos. Carter, from Westchester, is a 6-foot-2, 180-pounder with good speed and hands. Valdovinos, a Huntington Park graduate, is a 6-3, 190-pound possession receiver who isn’t afraid to catch the ball over the middle.

The running back corps is mostly new, although returnee Emmanuel Rodriguez does provide some experience. The San Gabriel High product is a tough, quick inside runner.

Returning starters James Simmers (6-3, 245) and Jacques Namahoe (6-3, 235) anchor the offensive line. Simmers was second-team all-conference.

Filling the other spots are freshmen Cesar Estrada (6-2, 250) from Bell Gardens, Jamal Tucrkile (6-3, 275) from Lynwood, transfer Ruben Delgado (6-1, 315) and Danny Vasquez (6-2, 285) from Roosevelt.

Defensively, the Huskies have upgraded, as well.

Still, they have two solid returnees in linebackers Steven Torres and Carlos Perez, both Garfield products. Torres earned all-conference honors a year ago while splitting time between defense, offense (as a fullback) and special teams (punting). The improved talent on offense means Torres will only have to play defense and handle the punting chores this time around. He had games last year when he had as many as 18 tackles.

Chris McCoy, a first-year player from Bell Gardens, heads an inexperienced defensive line.

The secondary includes sophomore safety Jason Russell from Verbum Dei and freshman safety Joel Jimenez from Roosevelt.

The tests begin early for East L.A., which opens the season Sept. 5 at Cerritos, then faces Glendale and Pasadena the following two weeks.

“We have high expectations for the guys,” Cain said. “We do expect to be competitive in the Pacific Coast Conference.”